The Community Link Worker programme in Inverclyde is funded by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. Community Link Workers are based within GP Practices and they work across the community, third sector and public sector to support people to live well through strengthening connections between community resources and primary care.

Community Link Workers provide a service that is responsive to the needs and interests of a GP practice population, who are often living in an area affected by socio-economic deprivation. They support patients to identify issues that affect their ability to live well. Taking a person-centred approach, the post holder will support individuals to help them identify personal outcomes and priorities that they would like to address, overcome any barriers to addressing these and link them to local and national support services and activities.

The Community Link Worker will support the existing GP practice teams to become better equipped to match local and national support services to the needs of individuals attending for health and welbeing care. They will also build relationships and processes between the GP practices and community resources, statutory organisations, other health services and voluntary organisations.

Background

Borders Forest Trust (BFT) is a regional woodland conservation charity established in 1996 to bring back native woodlands and associated natural habitats to the South of Scotland and to revive a thriving woodland culture in the region. Since its establishment BFT has achieved a remarkable amount towards both aims.

Committed to the restoration of greatly diminished native woodland in the region, BFT now owns over 3,400 hectares of land in southern Scotland. Working with hundreds of dedicated volunteers, we have set about restoring natural habitats on our land and to date have planted over 2 million native trees and shrubs.

BFT delivers community and education outreach work in the Scottish Borders. Over the years BFT have delivered a range of community and education focussed projects to engage people in woodlands including: community woodlands, woodland volunteering, outdoor learning/ Forest School education programmes and school grounds environmental improvements. This valuable work provides experiences, health and wellbeing benefits and skills development to people of all ages and abilities while helping them to connect with their natural environment.

Objectives of the Post

The post of Borders Volunteer Co-ordinator will provide a rewarding and varied set of tasks. You will be part of a small and enthusiastic team and will have the opportunity to contribute to restoring native woodlands and reviving woodland culture whilst working with a broad range of people and organisations. We’re looking for an energetic, people person with a passion for the great outdoors. The role will predominantly involve outdoor work, requiring someone with a mix of skills - exceptional communication, organisational and interpersonal skills - and on the other hand an aptitude and passion for ‘hands on’ outdoor conservation activities.

This is a public facing role that aims to provide a regular presence in our local sites to support local woodland groups, establish new volunteering groups and deliver on aspects of the site management plan.

Overall purpose of the post

The Climate Action Officer will play a key role in advocating for climate action and sustainability, and will be responsible for developing and delivering a Climate Action Programme within the Trust’s Climate Action Hub.

This is an exciting opportunity to work with the local community to promote positive climate action as supported by the Climate Action Fund programme. The Climate Action Officer will be involved with assisting and motivating community groups to identify relevant initiatives which will contribute to meeting local and national climate targets, and building awareness of the climate impact.

They will have the ability, drive and vision to engage and support the public to take climate action. They will support to empower those beginning and those already participating in climate action.

Main duties and responsibilities

1. Climate Action

Responsible for: -

• Work with existing and new groups with little or no previous involvement in climate action and identify ways of enabling them to participate
• Deliver the Hub’s climate action programme to include a series of talks, workshops and events within the local community
• Review applications for seed funding in support of climate action activities, including monitoring and evaluation
• Promote climate action programme via social media platforms
• Monitor and evaluate the programme and provide regular updates as required
• Support and delivery of Scottish Government’s Climate Change Plan, Climate Change Adaptation Programme and Just Transition commitments

2. Responsibilities

Responsible for: -

• Build and develop good working relationships with key stakeholders/other organisation and agencies who can offer support
• Encourage co-ordination of activity and collaboration between community groups and other local bodies such as Local Authority, Education and Third Sector
• Facilitate learning and development by providing support materials and resources
• Contribute to a broad range of Policies that work to deliver the National Outcomes set in supporting a healthier, fairer, greener and more resilient community
• Foster peer learning and sharing of experience

3. Other Duties

Responsible for:

• Provide input to ensure all Climate Action processes are completely up to date when reviewed and updated on a regular basis, adopting an attitude of customer focused continuous improvement
• Foster peer learning and sharing experiences
• To undertake any other relevant duties within the overall scope of this post as may be required by the line manager

As the charitable subsidiary of West of Scotland Housing Association (WSHA), Willowacre Trusts overarching aim is to tackle social and economic disadvantage and impact on tenancy sustainment within the communities served by WSHA. Our values (respect, inclusive, integrity, improvement and support) shape how we act, our decisions and the services we provide.

Our staff are at the heart of our business and we support them to be their best which is demonstrated with 84% of staff saying WSHA is a good place to work. We provide a friendly, inclusive environment and dependent on the role - the flexibility of a hybrid model of working (mix of home and office). Staff also benefit with a generous holiday allowance of 40 days and the option to work flexibly. We know that to deliver outstanding customer service, we must ensure our staff are happy, healthy and motivated and we put a strong focus on staff wellbeing which is reflected with our gold accreditation for Investors in People. All staff also have free access to a comprehensive Employee Support Service.

We are an equal opportunities employer and positively encourage applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, sexual orientation, age, or religion or belief. We are particularly interested to hear from applicants with a disability, or from a black or minority ethnic background. Disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria will, where possible be granted an interview under the Disability Confident scheme.

Following a review of our Community Services, we are looking for a part time Community Worker who shares our values and will use them to guide the way they work on a daily basis. You will be accountable to our Community Development Officer.

Willowacre Trust provides a wide variety of groups, activities, events and projects in partnership with local community members and organisations to address inequalities and support inclusion. You will take an active part in actively engaging with individuals and groups to identify needs, provide support, facilitate access to services, and empower them to address social issues. These will often focus on areas like poverty, health, housing, or mental wellbeing. Through building relationships, the post holder will act as a vital link between the charity's services and the local community.

Although your office base will be Barrowfield, you will provide services across all of our communities within Glasgow, South, North and East Ayrshire and North and South Lanarkshire

You should have:

• Excellent interpersonal and engagement skills, with the ability to communicate effectively at all levels
• Good IT skills including word processing, excel, email and other software packages
• The ability to motivate and encourage community participation within hard-to-reach groups
• Experience of developing and delivering community activities and events